Automatic toilet closure



May 9,1933. D. KAPP 1,907,826

AUTOMAT IC TOILET CLOSURE Filed Nov. 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BYDa/vid KG P ATTORN May 9, 1933. D. KAPP 1,907,826

AUTOMATIC TOILET CLOSURE Filed Nov. 14, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .HHHHI gwucntoz ,Da via KZL v J,

Patented May 9, 1933 DAVID APnon rr-rrnannnnznn; rnnnsvnvnninf 2 7 AUTOMATIC TOILET cLosUnn Application filed November 14, 1920. Serial No. 495,563;

- My invention relates to toilet seat closures, and more particularly to a certain toilet seat closure which-operates automatically when the toilet is flushed.

An object of my invention is to provide a toilet seat cover that will be sanitarily closed, without the usually necessary manual operation,when the toilet seat is not muse.

With the above and other objects in view,

' More particularly, my inventionconsists of a toilet lid hinged to its support in an offcent er, manner so that it will tend to fall even when'it is'in an upright position, an elastic catch to hold the lid in the upright position, a means, such as a string, to transfer themotion of flushing to the spring catch,

. releasing it and thereby permitting the lid to fall, and a counter-balancing medium to make the dropping of the seat noiseless.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, Ihave shown in the accompanying drawings, forms thereof which are at present preferred by me, since the'same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be under-' stood that the Various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to theprecise arrangement and organization of the instrumentali ties as herein shown and described.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a side elevational view of a novel toilet closure embodying my i11- vention.

Figure 2 represents a fragmentary side elevational view of the lid closing mechanism, omitting the counterbalance.

Figure 3 represents a plan view of the lid closing mechanism.

Figure 4 represents afragment-ary side elevational view of a modified form of lid coun-z terbalance. Y i r Figure 5 represents a front elevational View (on a much enlarged scale) ofva' novel toilet flush closet and toilet closure embody ing my invention, shown partly in section. 1

My invention may be applied to any conventional form of water closet '5, including a bowl 6, seat 7, lid 8 .and flush closet 9, as" shown in Figure lflush closet 9 having any suitable means (not shown) operatively con nected therewith to flush'the same According to my invention, the upright lid position maybe somewhat diflerent than the conventional form, in thatit is kept off-center, favoring a forward drop. This may be accomplished by placing thelid stop 28- for-- ward of the hinge pivot 12,. thus keeping the center of gravity of the lidalwaysforward of the pivot point. To counteract this drop-- ping tendency, a camand spring'catch ar-" rangement is provided on the hinge member to hold the lid upri ht until released by a suitable mechanism. I haveillustratedthis by the cam on the hinge member ll and the spring catch let'attached to tlie'hinge sup--' port 16.

In water closets of former construction, in order toleave the closet in a sanitary manner after use, it is necessary to close theflid and turn the flushing han dle. Oftentimes the lidis permitted to. remain open. My present invention assures the closing of the lid when the bowl is flushed, by making the action of flushing result automatically in the closing of the lid. i

As will. be seen in Figure I 1,the flushing shaft 17, I carrying 'the-erterior flushing handle 18, has attached to itanlarm' 19 forr'ais ing the drawstring 15- 'or the l ike. When the flushing handle 18: is turned',-the draw string 15 is thereby raised, pulling the spring catch 14 from the cam 13, and' permitting the toilet li'df8" to fall. As a means for: permit ting the'draw string safely to pass through theflush closet 9, I may provide atconduit 20. Though I have used azdraw stringfor puriposes of illustration, I may provide any other suitable means for causing .the. motion 0f flushing to retract or releasethe spring catch.-

In this manner, I may provide a system of levers or the like for operatively interconnecting the flushing meanswith the lid release.

In order to prevent any unnecessary noise in the closing of the lid, I have also provided a counteracting medium such as the counterweight 21 to retard the fall of the lid.

In Figure 4, I have shown another form of counteracting medium for retarding the fall of the lid. This mechanism consists of a cam-peripheried ratchet wheel 22 turned by the fall of the lid 8 by means of the pawl 23, and a frictional retarding means such as the spring 24 to press against the cam surface 25 as the wheel is turned. In this manner every time the lid is raised, the pawl slides along the cam 25 until it falls in the ratchet 26. The raised end of the retarding spring acts against the ratchet 26 nearest it to keep the wheel from turning with the pawl as the lid is raised. .When the lid begins to fall, as it does when released, it carries along with it the pawl 23, pivoted to the hinge member 11 at 29, turning the wheel 22, as the lid falls. ,As the wheel turns, however, the cam surface 25 exerts more and more pressure on the retarding spring 24. But inasmuch as the pawl 23 is caught in the ratchet 26, and the lid 8 cannot fall unless the wheel 22 turns, any retarding of the wheel 22 also retards the fall of the lid 8, thus making the fall of the lid noiseless. 7

Though I have illustrated only two forms of retarding means for noise'lessly lowering the toilet lid, any suitable form may be used.

The advantages of my novel toilet closure system are several. Aside from eliminating a'usually necessary manual operation, it has a sanitary advantage in assuring the closing of the lid and a further advantage in doing away with the necessity of handling.

I amaware that my invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiments to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to .indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what 'I' hereby claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a closet bowl with a seat therefor, a lid pivotally mounted in relation to the bowl and a stop'limiting the upright open position of said lid so that its center of gravity is in front of the pivoted mounting, an automatic catch. for keeping the lid in an upright open position, flushing means including a manually operated handle, and means 'operatively interposed between said handle and the automatic catch for. re-

'tracting the catch upon the operation of the handle to permit said lid to gravitate to a closed position.

2. In adevice of the character stated, a

combination of a flush closet, a bowl with a seat therefor, a lid pivotally mounted in relation to the bowl and a stop limiting the upright open position of said lid so that its center of gravity is in front of the pivoted mounting, a resilient catch for keeping the lid in an upright open position, a flexible connection attached to' the flushing mechanism to retract the resilient catch by the action of the flushing, thereby permitting the lid tofall, and a friction wheel for retarding the fall of said lid.

8. The combination of a closet bowl with a seat therefor, a lid pivotally mounted in relation to the bowl and seat,means for aut0- matically retaining the lid in. a generallyupright open position, flushing means including a manually operated handle adapted to be operated directly by the user, andmeans operatively interposed between said handle and said lid for causing the former to act upon the latter, thereby to cause the latter to gravitate into a closed positionupon the operation of the former and as a result of the action of the handle upon the lid.

4. The combination of a water closet having a seat, a lid pivotally mounted in relation to the bowl and seat and adapted generally to cover the bowl and seat opening when in its lower or'closed position, means for maintaining the lid in a generally upright .open'position, bowl flushing means including ,a manually operable handle, adapted to be operated directly by theuser, and means op-. eratively interposed between said handle and said lid for causing the former to act upon the latter, thereby to cause-the latter, automatically to descend into its lower or closed position as aresult of the operation of the flusher handle and as a result of the action of the same upon the lid. r a

'In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 12th day of November,

1930. V 7 DAVID KAPr. 

